


The Red Herring

by sammysouffle (talesandthings)



Category: Daredevil (TV), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Attempt at Humor, Confusion, Crack, Fluff, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-02
Updated: 2017-08-02
Packaged: 2018-12-10 01:14:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,908
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11680938
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/talesandthings/pseuds/sammysouffle
Summary: Foggy wakes up to a stranger in his bed. Except the guy's not a stranger because he bears an uncanny resemblance to Foggy's former best friend.





	The Red Herring

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry if this whole thing seems a little confusing.

Foggy sleepily threw his arm across his bed. And froze. His hand landed on something silky...and soft? 

“Uhhh… Foggy? Why are you pulling my hair?” 

Foggy yelped and immediately removed his hand, like he had been burned. His turned his head to look at the person beside him and his eyes widened. “Matt?” It was still relatively dark in his room but he could make out the person's face. The person beside him looked like Matt and not like Matt at the same time. He was dressed like Matt. Clean white shirt, minus the tie, and black trousers. But that’s where the similarities ended. He had bright red hair. He almost looked… _older_. There were crinkles around his eyes. And his eyes… Foggy leaned in to stare into those eyes-  _ and oh my, god they were blue _ . Code red. Code red. THEY WERE BLUE NOT BROWN. Foggy’s voice caught in his throat. His heart started jack hammering in his chest. His brain and legs were not in sync because in his haste to get out of bed, his feet caught in the sheets and he almost face planted on the floor. Almost. There was suddenly a strong grip around his wrist, keeping him from falling. 

“Careful, Fog. You’ll hurt yourself.” The person, Matt not Matt, sounded amused. Like he was enjoying Foggy’s misery. 

Foggy snatched his hand out of the guy’s grip and narrowed his eyes at him. “Who the hell  _ are _ you?” 

The guy threw his arms behind him and looked up at the ceiling. “Isn’t that obvious?” He asked. There was still an amused smile on his face. “I’m Matt.” 

“Uh... no, you’re not.  _ You-”  _ Foggy pointed at the guy’s body. “-are most definitely not Matt.” Truth is, Foggy wasn’t entirely sure. 

A chuckle bubbled through the guy’s chest. Even his laugh sounded like Matt’s. And those dimples. God.... what the hell was going on? 

“Okay, so maybe I’m not the Matt you know.” The guy let his arms drop beside him. He crossed his legs in front of him as he faced Foggy. “I don’t know how to explain this. It’s kind of--  _ complicated _ .” 

Foggy kept seated at the edge of the bed. There was no way he was moving closer to this person. “Complicated, huh?” Foggy asked, nodding his head. “Complicated, he says. This isn’t  _ complicated _ , it’s fucking insane!” He shouted throwing his hands up. “You know what? That’s it, I’m calling Matt. The  _ real _ Matt. Because I am pretty sure you’re a shapeshifter. A bad one at that because you got Matt’s hair color and eyes wrong.” 

“You sure you want to call him? You’re not exactly friends with him-- me anymore, Foggy.” The guy said as Foggy was reaching for his phone. 

“How do you know that?” Foggy demanded.    


“Because I’m-” Matt not Matt sighed, “Look, what I’m about to tell you right now will sound insane. So I need you to keep up, okay?” 

Matt not Matt’s serious tone piqued Foggy’s interest. He fully turned his body to face the guy and folded his legs under him too to mirror him. “I have no idea how much more insane this can get,” Foggy pointed out. 

Matt not Matt stuck out his bottom lip and shrugged his shoulder. “Oh trust me, it’s about to get worse,” he replied ominously. He then abruptly turned his head to look over his right shoulder. “Oh shut up, Strange. He deserves to know.” He paused for a second before adding. “Well, then maybe you shouldn’t have gotten us into this mess in the first place.” 

A chill ran down Foggy's spine. He slowly turned his head to see who the guy was even talking to. Just as he had expected, there was no one there. Foggy immediately scooted back. His ass was now hanging off the bed. One more move and he would on the floor. “Uh… dude, buddy, listen, I don’t know who you are but-” 

“I’m not talking to myself,” Matt not Matt pointed claimed, 

“It  _ kind of _ looks like you are,” Foggy replied uneasily. He really didn’t want to get stabbed by this shapeshifter. 

“I’m not a shapeshifter, Foggy.” 

The raised his thin eyebrows as Foggy was about to protest. 

“Right, okay, so you’re a mind reading, non-shapeshifter, that looks like my former best friend going through a midlife crisis. Okay, I think I’d like to wake up now.” 

The guy’s lips twisted into a frown. “I’m not that old!” He argued. “Okay, fine, never mind. Priorities Matt,” he mumbled under his breath. “Look, there’s no easy way to say this so I’m gonna come right out and say it.” The guy visibly took a deep breath. “I’m from a different dimension. And I’m not really here…  _ physically _ … _technically_ ,” he added awkwardly and moved his hands in front of him. 

Foggy blinked at him in return. He scared himself when a loud laugh erupted from his chest. “Alternate dimension?” He grabbed onto his tummy as he continued to laugh hard. “Oh my god, good one, man.” 

The guy didn’t laugh along.

Foggy’s laughter slowed down as the guy kept looking past him with a serious expression on his face. “You’re not joking?” Foggy asked, as his heart picked up again. 

“I’m not. But you surely must have seen insane things in your world? This isn’t a normal world, right? We’re mentally connected so I know that there is a Daredevil in this universe.” 

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, back up a moment… We’re mentally connected?” Foggy asked. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?” 

Matt not Matt took another deep breath. “Okay, so, here’s what happened. I have this friend, he’s a powerful sorcerer,” he paused and looked over his shoulder again. “No, Strange, I’m not about to ask him about the Strange in his universe. Priorities.” He turned his attention back on Foggy. “Sorry,” he shrugged. “Anyway, my friend, Strange, he discovered this new…  _spell_ you could say, and with this spell, he could establish  a psychic connection between two people from two different universes. Exciting stuff, right?” When Foggy didn’t say anything, the smile fell from Matt not Matt’s face and he continued, “Strange couldn’t use himself as a guinea pig for his so-called experiment because if he linked his mind with another version of himself then the consequences would be terrible. Being the idiot that I am-” 

“Can’t argue there,” Foggy mumbled under his breath. 

Matt not Matt gave him an unimpressed look in return. “-I decided to volunteer myself but instead of linking my mind to the Matt of this universe, he accidentally linked it to yours.” 

“How’s that even possible? I mean, Matt and I don’t even live in the same vicinity. No wait-” Foggy paused when he realized he was going in the wrong direction. “-that- you can’t expect me to believe any of this, right? I mean, aliens falling from space, I can believe. Hell, I am even willing to believe that you’re a shapeshifter. But a psychic connection with someone from another dimension? That's ludicrous, man.” Foggy huffed. He unwound his legs to get out of bed when he felt a hand on his wrist. 

“This is a two-way street, Foggy. I’m as much mentally and emotionally linked to you, as you are to me.” Matt not Matt informed him. “Okay, you don’t believe me. Close your eyes.” 

“Oh hell, no, man, I am not closing my-” 

“Foggy,” Matt not Matt lowered his voice. Now he really sounded like Foggy’s Matt. “Trust me.” 

Against his better judgment, Foggy closed his eyes. Because somewhere he _did_ trust this guy. 

“Just follow my voice, okay. I know you can hear me in your head.” Matt not Matt was right. Foggy could hear him in the back of his head, like a subconscious. Matt not Matt’s hand on his wrist felt real and not real at the same time. It’s almost like he was being touched by a ghost. 

Foggy gasped when he finally opened his eyes. He wasn’t in his own room anymore. This looked like the living room of a luxury apartment. Everything around him screamed expensive. The apartment was dimly lit. It overlooked the whole city outside. Foggy found himself seated on an expensive leather couch. Matt not Matt was right beside him. There was a man standing beside the sofa on Matt not Matt's side. He had dark hair that was gray around the edges. He was sporting a goatee and had a hardened expression on his face. But Foggy couldn’t really take him seriously because the guy had a red cape for fuck’s sake. 

“Where the fuck am I?” He asked, as his heart started pounding in his chest again.

Matt not Matt got up and spread out his arms. “Welcome to my universe,” he declared.

“This is a joke, right? Or a terrible dream? I am ready to wake up any moment now. 

“What is he saying?” The man standing by the couch asked. 

“He still doesn’t believe me,” Matt not Matt replied. 

“What else are we to do, Matt?” 

Matt not Matt let out a deep sigh. “I don’t know, Strange.” He moved to sit beside Foggy again. “Look, Foggy, I know this is all too weird and unbelievable but it is what it is. You and I are mentally and emotionally linked now. At least until Strange figures out how to unlink us.” 

“He doesn’t know how to do that?!” Foggy asked incredulously and looked over at the guy who looked uncomfortable and was busy staring at Matt not Matt. “This is messed up. Please knock me out so that I can wake up already.” 

“This isn’t a dream, Foggy.”

“No, but it is a literal nightmare,” Foggy replied. “I wanna go home.” 

A sad smile spread across Matt not Matt’s face. “You _are_ home, Foggy.” 

Foggy immediately looked around and he was indeed back in his own apartment, sitting on his own bed. 

“You don’t physically leave this place. Only your conscience does.” 

Foggy groaned and threw his head back. “Look, Matt not Matt-” he paused and looked at the guy again. “-that’s what I’ve been calling you the whole time in my head. But now I see I need a new name for you.” He hummed thoughtfully and then it hit him. “I know. You’re the Red Herring Matt or simply Red Matt.” 

Red Herring Matt’s whole body shook as he laughed. “Red Herring Matt? That’s a mouthful. But okay, I’ll bite. Why am I Red Herring Matt?” 

“Because I don’t trust you.” 

The smile slipped off Red Herring Matt’s face. “You know that’s not what a Red Herring is?” 

“I know,” Foggy nodded, smirking at him. For the first time today, Foggy wondered if this guy could see. He held up his middle finger in front of Red Herring Matt’s face and asked, “How many fingers am I holding up?” 

“One,” he replied without missing a beat. “By the way, you want to call me Red Herring Matt because I have red hair, don’t you?” 

“Yep!” Foggy replied thoughtfully. “And now, I’m going back to sleep and when I wake up, I hope you would have disappeared, Red Herring Matt.” With that, he fell back on his bed and closed his eyes. He ignored the voice that still lingered in the back of his mind. He had hope that it would disappear when he wakes up again. 

**Author's Note:**

> This is inspired by Sense8. It's a little hard to write the mental, emotional connection thing in a fic but I tried.


End file.
